Digital Commons Network^™

Biophilia: Developing A Taste For Care, Che'leah Shannon

Theses and Dissertations

People in materially developed cultures spend over 90% of their lives in buildings (Evans & McCoy, 1998). Commencing with the industrial revolution these materially developed cultures see most of their populus moving from the countryside to the city in search of work and better lives. The city, an urban and modern development of densely packed peoples, buildings, and infrastructure, has developed as an efficient solution to meet the needs of a cosmopolis.

The city has developed widely without a necessity or place for nature. The ground outside is paved with concrete, efficient and comfortable for travel, buildings are built high …

Learning Curve: Designing An Inclusive Early Childhood Learning Center, Sarah Alrumayh

Theses and Dissertations

This research centers on the improvement of early childhood education environments in hopes to reduce the disparities in outcomes among children aged 2-6, widely known as "the achievement gap." It sheds light on designing an inclusive, child-centered school for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) and speech or language impairments (SLI). Drawing on the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), it underscores the benefits of integrating students with special education needs into mainstream education, thereby fostering inclusive learning environments. (IDEA, 1975).

The research question probes how to create a nurturing and adaptable school environment tailored to the diverse needs of …

Exploring The Experiences Of Faculty Learning To Teach Online: A Case Study, Peyton P. Burgess Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Through an examination of literature, interviews and focus groups with participants of a faculty development program on online teaching and learning at a large Public Mid-Atlantic Urban University (PMUU), this research aimed to uncover the elements of a faculty development course or other impacts that contributed to the success or hindrance of faculty in their online course delivery. This qualitative study aimed to foster collaborative relationships with participants and resulted in data that might inform the development of faculty and their online courses in similarly situated contexts.

Elucidation Of The Optical Properties Of Si And Si-Ge Alloy Nanostructures With Visible To Near-Ir Photoluminescence, Griffin Spence

Theses and Dissertations

Silicon and silicon-germanium alloy nanostructures have garnered increasing attention in the past 25 years due to their favorable optical properties, visible to near-IR luminescence, and inherently low toxicity. While many synthetic routes have been discussed in the literature, the high-temperature, solid-state disproportionation of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) has become the most popular way to produce highly crystalline, size-tunable Si and Si-based nanostructures (NCs). It has been shown in this work that maximum annealing temperature from 450°-1100°C and the addition of GeI₂or SnCl₄ precursors can be used to achieve different morphologies, alloying efficiency, and sizes. Directly annealing HSQ from …

Nano-Patterned Si Structures For Optical Filters And Electro-Mechanical Relays: Fabrication, Characterization, Prospects, And Limitations, Md Ataul Mamun

Theses and Dissertations

Nanofabrication technology, especially nanopatterning, is a rapidly advancing field that has already resulted in creating novel devices and holds promise for producing even more with unmatched performance. These techniques also allow us to gain insight into physical phenomena at the micro- and nanoscale. The ultimate performance of nanofabricated devices and their compatibility with existing Si-based CMOS technology hinge upon the careful selection of materials and precise design, coordinated with meticulous pattern transfer. In this work, we applied nanopatterning techniques on silicon to create optical filters for the shortwave infrared (SWIR) region and nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) relay-based logic gates. Additionally, these …

Threads Unbound, Yuan Xin

Theses and Dissertations

Threads Unbound investigated the formation of biased cognitive patterns within information ecosystems, examining the blend of reality and fiction in human perception. This project turns the 3 dimension space into an experimental field that prompts reflection on the mechanism of constructing narratives based on the subtle yet powerful forces of reading processes.

Modeling And Mitigating Power Grid Vulnerabilities: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Renewable Energy Integration, Cascading Failures, And Microgrid Resilience, Saikat Das

Theses and Dissertations

In modern power systems, rapid integration of renewable energy and the emergence of microgrid technology emphasize the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of vulnerabilities and robust defense mechanisms. The research begins with an exploration of power grid vulnerabilities to cascading failure amidst the increasing integration of renewable energy sources. A novel power balance technique is employed for cascading failure analysis and power grid vulnerability measurement. Simulation results indicate that the growing penetration of renewable energy has a proportionally higher impact on grid vulnerability to cascading failures. After a certain level of renewable energy penetration, some systems may deteriorate rapidly, necessitating …

Developing Machine Learning And Time-Series Analysis Methods With Applications In Diverse Fields, Muhammed Aljifri

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation introduces methodologies that combine machine learning models with time-series analysis to tackle data analysis challenges in varied fields. The first study enhances the traditional cumulative sum control charts with machine learning models to leverage their predictive power for better detection of process shifts, applying this advanced control chart to monitor hospital readmission rates. The second project develops multi-layer models for predicting chemical concentrations from ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy data, specifically addressing the challenge of analyzing chemicals with a wide range of concentrations. The third study presents a new method for detecting multiple changepoints in autocorrelated ordinal time series, using the …

The Splice Index As A Prognostic Biomarker Of Strength And Function In Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, Marina Provenzano

Theses and Dissertations

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a slowly progressive, multisystem disorder caused by a CTG repeat expansion in the DMPK 3’UTR that leads to global dysregulation of alternative splicing. The resulting decline in physical function is slow, and no reliable biomarkers exist for predicting disease progression; however, an RNA mis-splicing biomarker associated with weakness may have utility in predicting functional outcomes. Here we validate the Splice Index (SI) as a potential biomarker of DM1-associated strength and function. Muscle biopsies of the tibialis anterior were collected from DM1-affected individuals at baseline (n = 46) and 3-months (n = 34), along with …

Adaptable And Trustworthy Machine Learning For Human Activity Recognition From Bioelectric Signals, Morgan S. Stuart

Theses and Dissertations

Enabling machines to learn measures of human activity from bioelectric signals has many applications in human-machine interaction and healthcare. However, labeled activity recognition datasets are costly to collect and highly varied, which challenges machine learning techniques that rely on large datasets. Furthermore, activity recognition in practice needs to account for user trust - models are motivated to enable interpretability, usability, and information privacy. The objective of this dissertation is to improve adaptability and trustworthiness of machine learning models for human activity recognition from bioelectric signals. We improve adaptability by developing pretraining techniques that initialize models for later specialization to unseen …

Moonshine Babies, Arghavan Heydareslam

Theses and Dissertations

Moonshine Babies is a two-screen film made of collage/cut-out stop-motion and live-action. It is a visual poem based on my journals from when I recently started living in the US as an outsider. The experience left me feeling divided between the empty present and memories of the past. suggesting that there are collective memories among a group of interconnected individuals that unite them within a single narrative.

There was a moment when I asked, "If you are your memories, what does it mean to be somewhere you have no memories of and no one has memories of you there?"

Memories …

The Role Of Notch1 Signaling In Regulating Neurogenesis In The Olfactory Bulb Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Sarah A. Baig

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, more than 20.5 million adults over the age of 40 suffer from olfactory dysfunction, with TBI attributing to 5-17% of all olfactory dysfunction cases. Although often initially undetected and less conspicuous than other cognitive and behavioral impairments, olfactory dysfunction may have a significant negative impact on patients' quality of life and ability to accomplish activities of daily living, therefore the pathophysiology of these disorders should be understood. The production of neural stem cells enhances the repair and regeneration of the injured brain following a TBI. One of the primary endogenous neural stem cell generation sites in …

Unfolding Remembrance: Folding Islamic Principles Into Pondering Machines, Hind Al Saad Al-Kuwari

Theses and Dissertations

Principles of early Islamic art can be surveyed as a precursor to Western computational art. Though produced in different historical and cultural contexts, Islamic art and computational art are connected by underlying structures—arithmetic, harmony, and the concept of the Infinite.

Islamic developments in knowledge, like algebra, contributed to mathematics and mechanics—the building blocks of contemporary technology. Returning to Islam’s traditional harmony between religion and science, my creative practice constructs machines as an act of worship (ʿibadah), folding Islamic principles into the medium of computation.

Selected verses from the Quran are used as the core of each automaton (self-operating machine). Their …

Large Language Models, Prompting, And Synthetic Data Generation For Continual Named Entity Recognition, Charles I. Cutler

Theses and Dissertations

With the ever-growing amount of textual data, the task of Named Entity Recognition (NER) is vital to Natural Language Processing (NLP), a field which focuses on enabling computers to understand and manipulate human language. NER enables the extraction of information from unstructured text. Accurate information extraction is crucial for applications ranging from information retrieval to systems for question-answering. To ensure that NER models are robust to changes in data distributions and capable of recognizing new entity types, one may consider expanding the capabilities of an existing model. Continual learning is a paradigm within machine learning. It studies the objective of …

Intersectionality, Racial Discrimination And Oral Healthcare Utilization Among Black Adults In Baltimore City, Maryland, Briona M. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Oral health is essential for overall well-being, yet disparities persist, particularly among marginalized populations including Black adults. Limited access to and underutilization of oral healthcare services exacerbate these disparities. Discrimination, both individual and systemic, acts as a significant barrier to accessing care, contributing to disparities in oral health outcomes. Individuals facing discrimination experience mistrust and fear within oral healthcare settings, leading to delayed or avoided care. Therefore, investigating and addressing discrimination among Black adults is essential for promoting equitable access to oral healthcare, improving overall oral health outcomes, and lessening existing disparities.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this dissertation was …

Examining The Relationship Between Racism-Related Stress And Coping Among Black Adolescents: A Linked Lives Perspective, Kenna Yadeta

Theses and Dissertations

As Murry and colleagues (2018) note, racism serves as a family-level stressor, impacting both Black adolescents and their parents. As Black teens continue to experience frequent and varied racism experiences (English et al., 2020), their Black parents are facing a double challenge: bearing the weight of their own experiences with racism, while also parenting a Black adolescent through the same. Recent frameworks (e.g., Gilligan et al., 2018) highlight the linked experiences of Black families, in dealing with their stress and coping. As such, the current study aimed to explore the ways that both adolescent and parental experiences with racism related …

Insights Into The Characterization And Degradation Of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering Applications, Caleb B. Wells

Theses and Dissertations

Electrospun polymeric biodegradable scaffolds are essential in tissue engineering, particularly for Engineered Tissue Vascular Grafts (ETVGs), which promise advancements in treating coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, congenital cardiovascular defects, and renal disease. These scaffolds present a solution to issues with autologous graft availability and durability. While large-diameter grafts in low-pressure environments have seen success, small-diameter grafts in high-flow scenarios remain challenging. Understanding polymeric scaffold degradation and behavior during incubation, especially under dynamic mechanical loading, is vital for clinical translation of small-caliber ETVGs.

This research focuses on characterizing the mechanical and microstructural properties of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds and their …

Effectiveness Of Social Media Marketing In Healthcare, Juliana Jepkogei

Theses and Dissertations

Social media channels are essential for promoting networking and patient education in the healthcare sector. They include YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, where each platform has its unique benefits and demerits. Therefore, this thesis explores the effectiveness of these channels in marketing in the United States healthcare sector. It has been discovered that social media marketing enhances engagement, and increases the reach of target consumers, and healthcare delivery. However, challenges like the spread of propaganda, low-quality information, and cyber attacks compromise their effectiveness. The researcher had to use theories like the elaboration likelihood model, uses and gratification theory, and social influence …

Motivation, Learning, And The Workplace: A Study Of Community College Student Affairs Professionals And Continued Professional Learning, Joseph M. Ginese

Theses and Dissertations

Continued professional learning is a consistent focus of attention for the field of student affairs within higher education. Yet, very little research has been conducted on the factors that influence the motivation of student affairs professionals to pursue continued professional learning, especially professionals within community colleges. This study utilized a quantitative research design to examine the physical and psychological factors of the work environment that can influence a community college student affairs professional’s motivation to pursue continued professional learning. Through the theoretical lens of Lewin’s Field Theory and Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Theory, I designed a 58-item survey (N = 41) …

Youth Literacy And Social Practices In A Gaming Club, Abdul R. Siddiqui

Theses and Dissertations

One of the growing phenomena of our digital age is the proliferation of digital fan spaces (Gee, 2018). Dedicated to a specific fandom or activity, these spaces have allowed participants to play competitively, share videos with each other, create fanfiction, provide feedback to one another and engage in a host of literacies around something they share an affinity for (Black, 2009; Gee, 2017a). Through advances in technology, access to multiple tools and highly specialized knowledge of specific subjects, youth can now create communities in online spaces where they can engage in complex activities with their friends and fellow gamers without …

Persistence Of Wastewater-Associated Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria In River Microcosms, Aoife P. Mahaney

Theses and Dissertations

The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) associated with wastewater is a significant environmental concern, but little is known about the persistence and proliferation of these organisms in receiving water bodies after discharge. To address this knowledge gap, we performed a series of microcosm experiments in which river water was amended with either untreated or treated wastewater, and the abundance of viable ciprofloxacin-, Bactrim-, and erythromycin-resistant bacteria was monitored for 72 hours.

Both types of wastewater amendments increased the initial abundance of ARB compared to microcosms containing only river water. The increase was greatest with untreated wastewater, but that effect decreased …

Haven: Exploring Trauma-Informed Design In Transitional Housing For Women And Children, Sydney J. Rakes

Theses and Dissertations

relevance

For 15 years, I have been a volunteer at a shelter for women and children. I interact with families and women who are suffering from the trauma caused by homelessness and domestic violence. In my observations, I have learned some spaces are more conducive to the staff and resident experiences than others. This project will be addressing how transitional housing for women and children can be designed to support the healing of trauma caused by domestic violence.

As of July 2023, there were about 150 women suffering from homelessness locally in the city of Richmond, Virginia (Homeward VA, 2023). …

Effects And Mechanisms Of Smartphone-Based Mindfulness Training On Emotional Experience, Polina Beloborodova

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional well-being is an important component of mental and physical health that includes both positive emotions and an absence of emotional symptoms (e.g., depressive- and anxiety-related). In this study, we examine psychological mechanisms that help to explain the effects of an digital mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on emotional states. We conducted a randomized controlled trial wherein undergraduate student participants vulnerable to decreased positive and increased negative affect received a 2-week smartphone-based MBI or a structurally equivalent coping control intervention. Emotional experience, including depressive feelings, anxiety, and happiness, as well as subjective social well-being, including loneliness and felt connection to others, was …

A Walk In The Woods, Caitlin Mclean

Theses and Dissertations

A connection with nature fosters increased appreciation, admiration, and responsibility toward the natural environment, thus encouraging the mindful use of its resources and preservation of both species and their habitats. Defined by Mayer and Frantz (2004) as an “experiential sense of oneness with the natural world”, this connection is more important now than ever in this highly digital era. Studies indicate that limited exposure to nature can negatively impact the activation of neural pathways associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors (Chawla, 2020), while further research shows that engagement with the outdoors during childhood as a significant life experience (Chawla, 1998), …

"I Call Them Supermoms": Therapists' Reflections On The Impact Of Youth Sexual Offending On Latina Mothers, Mauricio P. Yabar

Theses and Dissertations

Families of youth who have sexually offended often suffer significant collateral consequences following the discovery of the sexual offense. Samples in research with these families disproportionately consist of mothers and other female parental figures. This is rarely acknowledged in the literature, and the experiences of these mothers have not been explicitly examined. In addition, research on the experiences of these families has largely ignored factors related to race and ethnicity. This is a significant oversight considering the prevalence of systemic racism and discrimination in the United States, particularly in the systems with which these families must interact (e.g., juvenile justice …

Evaluating The Role Of Interoceptive Awareness In Insomnia And Across The Sleep Health Spectrum, Lara Lobrutto

Theses and Dissertations

Interoceptive awareness, characterized by a non-judgmental and trusting attitude towards body sensations, is an understudied construct that is implicated in sleep and health outcomes. Interoceptive awareness is cultivated via contemplative and mindfulness-based practices. Given that it may be utilized to reduce pre-sleep arousal, which is a key mechanism in insomnia, interoceptive awareness is posited to be a protective factor for sleep health. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate university students (N = 420) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to assess the association between interoceptive awareness and sleep outcomes. Participants received a survey link and completed …

Cardiometabolic Genomics And Pharmacogenomics In Filipino Americans: A Cross-Sectional Study, Khalifa Y. Alrajeh

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Heart disease remains a leading cause of death in the country, with significant ethnic disparities. Filipino Americans (FAs), the third-largest Asian subgroup in U.S., face an elevated burden of dyslipidemia, a primary modifiable risk factor for heart disease. Objectives: This community-based study addresses critical knowledge gaps by characterizing the cardiometabolic and genetic factors contributing to dyslipidemia among FAs and implications for personalized cardiovascular drug therapies, particularly statin pharmacogenomics (PGx). Methods: We characterized dyslipidemia prevalence in FAs and major ethnic subgroups using nationally representative NHANES data. We examined associations between uric acid (UA) levels and lipid profiles, …

Covid-19 Vaccine And Infection And The Relationship To Lichen Planus Flare-Ups: A Self-Reported Survey Study, Sara Kube

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if there is an increased occurrence of oral lichen planus flare-ups after COVID-19 vaccination or infection.

Methods: An 11-item questionnaire was dispersed to patients with a diagnosis of oral lichen planus. The survey contained questions regarding the patient’s history of COVID-19 vaccination and infection as it relates subjective oral lichen planus flare-ups (i.e. oral redness, oral ulcerations, and/or oral pain/discomfort).

Results: Self-reported flares were significantly associated with whether or not vaccine side effects were also reported (p-value=0.0053). For those who reported experiencing side effects (tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, nausea), …

Family Rejection And Affirmation Experiences Among Racially And Ethnically Marginalized Youth Who Identify As Transgender And/Or Gender Diverse, Angela Matijczak

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships with family members can be a vital source of support, and significant stressor, that contributes to mental health outcomes among transgender and gender diverse young adults who are racially and ethnically marginalized (TGD REMY). Guided by a life history narrative approach, this qualitative study explored family affirmation and rejection among TGD REMY across three aims: (a) how TGD REMY define their experiences of family rejection and/or affirmation, (b) whether and how experiences of rejection/affirmation change throughout the lifetime, and (c) whether and how experiences of rejection/affirmation differ by each family member. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 TGD REMY …

Identifying Mechanistic Pathways To Rigidity Associated With Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Traits Using A Novel Decision-Making Paradigm, Hannah L. Heintz

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive and behavioral rigidity is observed across several mental disorders and is a defining characteristic of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), a highly prevalent and debilitating, yet understudied, disorder. In particular, treatments for OCPD are underdeveloped due to our poor understanding of the mechanisms leading to the disorder’s key feature of rigidity. Two related disorders, anorexia nervosa (AN) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), have shown distinct mechanistic pathways leading to symptoms of rigidity, indicating that this trait can arise as a result of a number of differentially impaired cognitive processes, each requiring unique interventions. To examine the relationship between symptoms of OCPD …